Dreamfarm News

2012-03-06T21:07:00.001-06:00

We Have Babies!

March came in like a lion on our farm. It started on March 1st, with a set of triplet goat kids. We had a one day break, then on March 3rd we had a set of twins, and on March 4th we had two sets of quadruplets, which is extremely rare. In all our years of raising goats we had only one set of quadruplets, and then we had two sets born in one day, and they were born of a mother and daughter pair. Now every day more kids are born.

At Dreamfarm, we have 30 mother goats (does) expected to kid. Usually we estimate to double that in kids, so we plan to have about 60 kids. But if we continue with these multiples, we will have many more than expected. When the doe kids, she starts her milk production. All their milk is bottle-fed back to the kids at the start. The kids are fed 3 times a day until they are about one week old, then we feed them twice a day. All this interaction causes the baby goats to bond with us and they become so friendly!

By the end of March, we hope to have most of the kids on a schedule. We should have extra milk by then, and we will start the cheesemaking. If you have not signed up for a Dreamfarm Goat Cheese Share, we still have shares available. Please go to our website: www.dreamfarm.biz and print off an order form. We would love to have you join us again for the 2012 season!

We're all enjoying this wonderful spring weather, animals included. Just yesterday our yard was full of snow, now it's all melted and a fresh spring smell is in the air! Warm weather is ideal for birthing season and we all have a severe case of spring fever.

Dreamfarm will hold their Farm Day Open House on June 24. More details will be posted at a later date. Please plan to join us! We'd love to meet you and you're sure to have a good time meeting all the animals!

Farm picture photo credit: Sam Evans

October 20 - Last CSA Pick-Up of the Season (B Week)

2011-10-14T21:16:00.002-05:00

Pick-Up Date: Thursday, October 20, 2011

Sites: Baldwin, Vermont Valley Farm, HospiceCare, Jenifer, Just Coffee, Middleton Hills, Mt. Horeb, Nakoma, Parmenter-EOW, Seminole, Shorewood, Vilas, West Lawn
Cheese of the Week: Garlic Fresh Cheese

Important Notes: This is the last CSA pick-up of the season. Please return all empty glass jars and lids from Fresh Cheese and Rose Memories deliveries this year. We'll clean them and have them ready for your cheese in 2012. Thanks!

The Season's End

It's hard to believe it's the end of the season, but the evidence is all around! Milk production is slowing dramatically as the goats enter the breeding season. Although there is less milk, it is higher in protein and butterfat and yields more cheese than in the summer. Love is in the air as the bucks and does mingle in the two pastures. The chickens are laying fewer eggs, and getting quirkier by the day. The trees are approaching bare, the days are noticeably shorter and the pigs are almost fat enough to eat. The end of cheese making season approaches at Dreamfarm, and we'd like to extend our enormous gratitute to you for another year of your support. Thank you!

Thank you again for joining us as CSA members for the year. A few closing notes before we say goodbye for the colder months. Please return all empty glass jars and lids on your last pick-up day, we will re-use them next year. At your pick-up site this week you will also find a survey and 2012 order form. Please fill out the survey and return it, as we greatly appreciate your feedback.You can sign up for the 2012 season through the survey form, at the MACSAC Open House next March or through Diana's reminder e-mail next spring. And we do hope we'll get to see you again next year! Even though the CSA season is ending, you can find us for a few more weeks (until November 5th) at the Westside Community Market (in the DOT parking lot at Segoe and University Ave) on Saturday mornings from 7am to 1pm. Stock up on cheese and fresh eggs. And we'll try to post to the blog through the winter to keep you updated on the farm. Thank you! Read below for the season's wrap up on the farm.

The farm has been a buzz of activity from spring through fall. There's the kidding that kick's off a new season, daily milking, making cheese, taking care of all the animals and putting up enough hay (just to name a few things) that keep the farm feeling busy. This doesn't all stop in the winter, but it slows enough to give Diana and her family a chance to relax, catch up and enjoy some good winter hiking and skiing. This year, much like other years, things have been busy. There are now 24 goats in the milking herd which means more milk and more time spent with daily milkings.

The farm also moved the steer into a newly fenced 9-acre portion of wooded pasture. The three steer happily graze day in and day out, hanging out in their favorite corners and drinking from the small pond. Next year a new batch of goats, likely raised for meat, and the steer will be rotationally grazed through the pasture. That means that the goats will only be allowed to browse small sections of pasture at a time.

Diana also added three new goats to the farm, Rebecca, Story and Gandalf. All three are Nigerian Dwarf goats, known for their creamier milk that is high in butterfat which will make for some tasty cheese experiments next year. The new goats turned out to be much smaller and much cuter than possibly imagineable, and the buck has an enormous while beard that makes him look like Santa Clause.

This year the farm experimented with Guinea Hogs and Black Mule Foots, both heritage breeds of pigs which are smaller than an average hog. The Black Mule Foots look just like a small version of a pig, but the Guinea Hogs are small and fat. Fat. I can't help but imaging the amazing pie crusts that will be made with the lard that comes from these pigs after they go to market in December. They have enjoyed a season on pasture, drinking the whey from the cheeserie, eating fresh apples collected from the trees on the farm and even munching on the spent grain from attempts at brewing beer at home. Lucky pigs.

The chickens are getting fiesty as their season wears on too. A very few have taken to pecking at, and eating, eggs from their own henhouse. On Monday a hen pecked open an egg as soon as I collected it in the egg basket. There are also two gangs of rebel chickens, the posse who live around the barn and lay eggs in the haymow. They are contrasted by the other gang that escape regularly from the henhouses and wander all day, sometimes nesting in the trees. Only a handful of chickens will stay on the farm for the winter. All other will be sold as hens for small flocks and backyard birds. If you are interested in starting or adding to your flock, chickens are available for $3.75 a piece in late October. Please e-mail Diana (diana@dreamfarm.biz) if you are interested.

Thank you for enjoying Dreamfarm cheese this season. Savor a wonderful fall and winter and we hope to see you next spring!

September 22 - Creating Rose Memories

2011-09-22T12:47:00.001-05:00

Pick-Up Date: Thursday, September 22, 2011

Sites: Baldwin, Vermont Valley Farm, HospiceCare, Jenifer, Just Coffee, Middleton Hills, Mt. Horeb, Nakoma, Parmenter-EOW, Seminole, Shorewood, Vilas, West Lawn

Cheese of the Week: Italian Blend Fresh Cheese

Important Notes: Please return all empty glass jars with lids, so we can re-use them to pack your cheese. Thanks! We will be delivering the "Rose Memories" to various sites over the next few weeks. Enjoy and give us your feedback.

Making Rose Memories: A Special Delivery

Hi Dreamfarm CSA Members! By now you are all familiar with the delicious varieties of Fresh Style goat cheese Diana creates on a weekly basis - but did you know she crafts a variety of other goat milk cheeses as well? The other delicious Dreamfarm cheese include aged raw milk cheeses like Winters Rest, Arthur, and a delicious feta, to pressed fresh cheeses like Queso Fresco and a series of Rosebuds - small, pressed fresh cheese rounds. In fact, there is a whole family of Rosebud cheeses that Diana creates including the Rosebud with Ash, Rose Blossom & Rose Memories. Each is distinct, but the Rose Memories is extra special and will be appearing in your share over the next few weeks, read more to find out how it's made and why it's so special. Because the Rose Memories is a very small batch cheese, they will be delivered to just a few drop sites each week. When you receive your Rose Memories, and savored it thoroughly, please be sure to return your empty glass jar for re-use.

As you can tell from the photo above, Rose Memories is not your average cheese. In fact, Rose Memories is two rounds of Rosebud cheese, steeped in extra virgin olive oil with oregano, garlic and chili pepper flakes. Although this may look different than the fresh cheese you receive in your share, the Rose Memories actually starts off just the same as the softer Fresh Cheese you enjoy - and is actually made at the same time. Just as the fresh cheese, the milk is hauled from the milk room to the cheeserie, and pasteurized low and slow, as all fresh cheese has to be pasteurized. Then the culture is added to the pasteurized goat milk, and then the rennet - and the curds and whey begin to separate. (More to come on the overall cheese making process in an upcoming newsletter!) The curds and whey then sit in the pasteurizer over night, after which the curd is removed. To make the Rosebud cheese, the curd is ladeled into 3" round forms and pressed - to get into its perfect, small round form.

The small rounds then dry for the rest of the week, at which point they are either wrapped as Rosebuds, or get transformed into Rose Memories. The process for creating the Rose Memories is straightforward, and quite beautiful. Clean glass jars are lined up, waiting for their cheese! One Rosebud is gently placed in each jar (sort of like playing a reverse game of Operation), and then sprinkled with a fair share of organic oregano, chili flakes and garlic. Then another Rosebud is placed on top of the first and the herbs are added again. Next, the olive oil is poured over the small stack of cheese. Lastly, the jars are sealed with clean lids, and the labels are applied. Voila - Rose Memories! Please enjoy the sampling of photos below - and enjoy watching all the details it takes to make this cheese.

Fitting the cheese in the jars

The herbs

All packed - waiting for the oil

Be sure to use your flavored oil as a dip or spread for cooking - yum.


All sealed up, labeled and ready for your CSA

Other Farm Updates
All else around the farm is well - although the days are noticeably shorter! As the seasons change, the milk changes too, and becomes a bit richer this time of year. Here's one last photo for the day - the kitten Roberta jumping out of a nesting box in one of the chicken houses! She spent time with the chickens when Jim and Diana moved the chicken houses last, and Jim found her in one of the nest boxes the next morning.

Enjoy your cheese this week, and have a wonderful weekend. We're always happy to receive your feedback, feel free to leave any thoughts in the comments section below - we'll try to answer your questions in the next newsletter.

September 29 - Making Rose Memories

2011-09-19T16:01:00.004-05:00

Pick-Up Date: Thursday, September 29

Sites: Black Oak, Crestwood, Cross Plains, Hampshire, Jackson, Parmenter-Standard, Mason, Monona, Oakridge, Research Park, UW Hospital, Verona, Dreamfarm

Cheese of the Week: Italian Blend Fresh Cheese

Making Rose Memories: A Special Delivery

Hi Dreamfarm CSA Members! By now you are all familiar with the delicious varieties of Fresh Style goat cheese Diana creates on a weekly basis - but did you know she crafts a variety of other goat milk cheeses as well? The other delicious Dreamfarm cheese include aged raw milk cheeses like Winters Rest, Arthur, and a delicious Feta, to pressed fresh cheeses like Queso Fresco and a series of Rosebuds - small, pressed fresh cheese rounds. In fact, there is a whole family of Rosebud cheeses that Diana creates including the Rosebud with Ash, Rose Blossom & Rose Memories. Each is distinct, but the Rose Memories is extra special and will be appearing in your share over the next few weeks, read more to find out how it's made and why it's so special. Because the Rose Memories is a very small batch cheese, they will be delivered to just a few drop sites each week. When you receive your Rose Memories, and savored it thoroughly, please be sure to return your empty glass jar for re-use.

Fitting the cheese in the jars

The herbs

All packed - waiting for the oil

Be sure to use your flavored oil as a dip or spread for cooking - yum.


All sealed up, labeled and ready for your CSA

Enjoy your cheese this week, and have a wonderful weekend. Stop by the Westside Farmers' Market and say hello too. And, we're always happy to receive your feedback, feel free to leave any thoughts by clicking on the the link to the "Comments" section below - we'll try to answer your questions in the next newsletter.

September 8

2011-09-06T14:46:00.001-05:00

Pick-Up Date: Thursday - September 8, 2011

Sites: Baldwin, Vermont Valley Farm, HospiceCare, Jenifer, Just Coffee, Middleton Hills, Mt. Horeb, Nakoma, Parmenter-EOW, Seminole, Shorewood, Vilas, West Lawn

Cheese of the Week: Plain Fresh Cheese

Important Notes: Please return empty glass jars with lids, so we can re-use them to pack your cheese. Thanks! We will be delivering the "Rose Memories" (rosebud cheese in olive oil marinaded in oregano, chili pepper and garlic) to various sites over the next few weeks. Enjoy and give us your feedback.

Welcome to the Dreamfarm Cheese CSA Newsletter

Hi loyal Dreamfarm CSA members, and welcome to the new format for the newsletter. We're excited to share stories about the weekly CSA delivery, everything that makes the farm run, how your cheese is made, delicious recipes and farm pictures with you through these postings.

Roberta driving the tractor

First, a brief introduction. This is Roberta, the newest addition to the farm. She's still a tiny kitten, but quite adventurous. All the people and animals around the farm adore her. Sometimes she takes a nap with Rosie the farm dog, and they are pretty darn cute together. I'm a new addition too, as Diana was kind enough to bring me on to help with cheese making and animal chores for the season. I recently moved to Madison, from Boston, and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to help make the cheese you enjoy, learn about raising dairy goats and get to spend time with Diana and her family. Since Roberta and I are the new ones around here, we'll highlight some news about the farm from our newbie perspectives. Stay tuned each week as Diana, her family members and myself share the latest from the farm with you all.

Jacob sheep in the pasture

Of course, a farmstead creamery is going to have dairy animals. In this case, Diana is milking 24 very sweet goats. They all have very different personalities and look quite different from each other too. Below is a photo of four kids (young goats) born this spring. Aren't they cute? The goats get milked twice a day (about 5am and 5pm) in the barn, but spend most of their time out in the big pasture. Beyond the sweet goats, Dreamfarm is also home to 5 heritage breed pigs (Black Mulefoot and Guinea Hogs), 3 young steer, 2 bucks (male goats) and 1 herd of heritage Jacob sheep that produce the most beautiful wool I've ever seen. Click on any of the photos below to see a larger view.

Here piggy-piggy

Roberta and the kids

Oh, and don't forget the chickens! Dreamfarm is home to a fun flock made up of a variety of chicken breeds. They all live in special chicken houses on pasture in the valley, enjoy grass and bugs all day and dig nice little fox holes for humans to trip in. They also produce the most beautiful eggs I have ever seen: white, buff, chocolate, pale blue and olive green. Absolutely beautiful. As an aspiring farmer, I have always know I wanted to raise laying hens, so I really enjoy getting to spend time with all the girls. Chickens are a funny bunch, and these girls are no different. Some of the girls are quite flighty, and will fly over the electric fence to in order to run around all day, and run they will run away from you if you try to catch them (I think the other chickens entertain themselves by watching us humans try to herd chickens - it's quite a funny site to see!). Other chickens seem to be afraid of us humans and just squat down and do a little jog-in-place any time they are approached by a person. I laugh almost every time they do the run in place. They are always eager for their scraps of cheese, and will often dog pile (or chicken pile) to get at whatever you throw into their chicken run.

Chicken houses on pasture

Still in the nest box

Such beautiful colors

Well, I could go on and on about the farm...and I will at a later date - but consider this a brief introduction for now! Hope you've enjoyed this first edition of the e-newsletter. Please feel free to leave comments below so we can make this feature work even better for you, or leave questions about the farm that we can answer in a future newsletter post. And, of course, please come visit us this Saturday (or any Saturday) at the Westside Community Market between 7am and 1pm. We'll be there with a variety of Dreamfarm goat cheeses, fresh eggs (while they last) and yarn from the Jacob sheep. Looking forward to seeing you back here next week or at the Market on Saturday. Enjoy your cheese this week!

The First CSA Newsletter - Dreamfarm Cheese CSA

2011-08-23T23:21:00.003-05:00

Pick-Up Date: Thursday - September 1, 2011

Sites: Black Oak, Crestwood, Cross Plains, Hampshire, Jackson, Parmenter-Standard, Mason, Monona, Oakridge, Research Park, UW Hospital, Verona, Dreamfarm

Cheese of the Week: Plain Fresh Cheese

Important Notes: Please return empty glass jars so we can re-use them to pack your cheese. Thanks!

Welcome to the Dreamfarm Cheese CSA Newsletter

Hi loyal Dreamfarm CSA members, and welcome to the new format for the newsletter. We're excited to share stories about the weekly CSA delivery, everything that makes the farm run, how your cheese is made, delicious recipes and farm pictures with you through these postings.

Roberta driving the tractor

Jacob sheep in the pasture

If course, a farmstead creamery is going to have dairy animals. In this case, Diana is milking 24 very sweet goats. They all have very different personalities and look quite different from each other too. Below is a photo of four kids (young goats) born this spring. Aren't they cute? The goats get milked twice a day (about 5am and 5pm) in the barn, but spend most of their time out in the big pasture. Beyond the sweet goats, Dreamfarm is also home to 5 heritage breed pigs (Black Mulefoot and Guinea Hogs), 3 young steer, 2 bucks (male goats) and 1 herd of heritage Jacob sheep that produce the most beautiful wool I've ever seen. Click on any of the photos below to see a larger view.

Here piggy-piggy

Roberta and the kids

Oh, and don't forget the chickens! Dreamfarm is home to a fun flock of made up of a variety of chicken breeds. They all live in special chicken houses on pasture in the valley, enjoy grass and bugs all day and dig nice little fox holes for humans to trip in. They also produce the most beautiful eggs I have ever seen: white, buff, chocolate, pale blue and olive green. Absolutely beautiful. As an aspiring farmer, I have always know I wanted to raise laying hens, so I really enjoy getting to spend time with all the girls. Chickens are a funny bunch, and these girls are no different. Some of the girls are quite flighty, and will fly over the electric fence to in order to run around all day, and run they will run away from you if you try to catch them (I think the other chickens entertain themselves by watching us humans try to herd chickens - it's quite a funny site to see!). Other chickens seem to be afraid of us humans and just squat down and do a little jog-in-place any time they are approached by a person. I laugh almost every time they do the run in place. They are always eager for their scraps of cheese, and will often dog pile (or chicken pile) to get at whatever you throw into their chicken run.

Chicken houses on pasture

Still in the nest box

Such beautiful colors

Welcome to the Dreamfarm Blog

2011-08-12T13:43:00.000-05:00

Hi Dreamfarm CSA Members and Others,

Welcome to the new blog for Dreamfarm. We're experimenting with a new way to share the CSA newsletter, connect with CSA members and share stories from the farm. Check back here for newsletters newsletter, farm updates and photos. Thanks for visiting, come back soon as we're a work in progress!

Cheers!